Makar Sankranti

the day dawned.. bright with promise! she had a work call to wrap up... ~ugh! However she had done the beautiful deed of setting up an out of office.. and declining her evening meetings by categorically telling people she was going to watch a play and hence won't be available!

post work call she had a nice loooong conversation which led to a dumb smile on her face for the day... and then well... it's a holiday.. it's peaceful.. snoooooooze!

she wakes up to hunger and the need to check some mail but not the wish to c(r)ook! and so that's what she does... picks up her ol' faithful (which happens to be her trusted thinkpad).. freshens up into a vague gypsy skirt (of course the t-shirt as well! :P) and sets out to a quiet lil cafe to occupy the corner seat in it's balcony!

it's a fuzzy evening... a cappuccino with a whiff of cinnamon and then some smoked chicken can only make you smile some more as old old buddies catch up on gtalk while she discovers her need to write! a while later it's time for the play... and granpa aka Mite makes his grand entrance to pick her up.. confirms that his booking has been made for the play (where someone says if you booked it it's there! ask at the counter once you get there!... fair enough!)

she drives through namma bengaluru's holiday evening traffic and they make it in the nick of time.. granpa steps to the counter where he is rudely told "hey! this is what they gave us and this is what we have.. ur not on it!" Furious ol gramps tries to call the ticket lady and gets no response... even more furious he messages the ticket lady to say "u dint book us n we r here!". The place luckily has a lil cafe where they serve chai to peace out grampy...! Halfway through a cuppa he gets a call from ticket lady... post staring at the ringing monstrosity for a few seconds he figures it's a good idea to take the call... and so he does. ~ahem! only to be made to realize that... "sir.. your sms said 15th and not 14th! ur booked for the 15th". Lo and behold follows a litany of apologies from granpa who feels terrible about ticking off a lady for no fault of hers! (he's cute that ways!)... :D

Ta Da.. two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl.... amends are made as friends are called to figure options.. it's zeroed down to a new italian takeaway place in Jayanagar called "Veeke's and Thomas" and then a romantic comedy! (granpa got lucky she decided to pick something else instead.. ;) ). So there we were at V&T surrounded in it's comfortable ambiance of white cane and warm people with a delectable menu at our disposal! Seating space is enough if u;ve ordered and are waiting with 2 tables to serve that purpose... and the music is soft and classical rock at a very conversational volume! After figuring 3 types of pasta's (halfs - yes they have half portions too.. variety really is the spice of a pleasant bengaluru evening) and 1 shepherd's pie their heart is taken my the 'mango cheese cake'! This much for 250 bucks! Yes - pause and stare! Some of the yummiest Italian food at this price.. in recyclable packaging! 'Italian Street Food!'

Well... they carry their food (devoid of plastic packaging) and drive off to pick up the 'romantic comedy!' Flipping through the pages this catches both their eyes... 'Dogs. Donkeys. Denial. There's no place like home!' and well that's what it becomes! (yes.. the slow romance of the evening has gotten to her as she picks up the stereo's remote instead of her cell phone while getting out of the jonga!)

The setup is complete... the forks are laid.. the bottle of water kept handy.. and the movie is on! Cheers to the li'l joys of a big life!

The slow pace of the movie with the delectable taste of the food recognizable in distinct spices peaces them out as both forget the turmoils of work and recollect their joys!

The food and the movie both come highly recommended! And here's where to find the takeout:

South Bangalore Kitchen, 22, Ground floor, 5th Cross, 24th Main Road, JP Nagar, Phase 2

Ph: +919972133533

Bon Apetit!